11 March 2005

How stupidity and stubbornness made me a better snowboarder.

Breckenridge, CO - Tuesday, March 8th


The T-Bar Challenge.

All said the last time he was there he had lots of problems riding the T-bar. He said he kept trying to get to the top, but kept falling off. (Having ridden on the damned thing, I understand!) So, Monday night I decided that I was going to ride up the T-Bar. I compared it to my trip up the climbing wall @ the amusement park in Ohio. "Do it for grandma" style.

Tuesday morning, I rode up the Beaver Run lift, to Peak 8 Super lift and headed straight to the T-bar. I wasted 15 min. watching others ride the T-bar to figure out how to ride it. I started up the lift. The first part of the run is pretty easy, then the pitch changes drastically. At this point, I am trying to keep my back foot on the stomp pad and maintain control of my board. All this while holding on to the bar. I ride goofy, so I had the bar against my left leg, under my butt. I still have bruises from the damned bar! My foot slipped off four or five times. Each time I was about to fall when I finally regained my balance. About 3/4 of the way up the guy behind me is yelling encouragements like: "Stay with it." & "Keep going, it's really hard to do on a board." Once I finally got to the top he was ready to give me a high five. It was a great sense of accomplishment. Yet this was only the beginning of my day... I was so tired that I was light-headed, and I didn't pay attention to the signs. I headed to my left towards the warming hut. Mind you, the wind was blowing really hard, and I couldn't see more than 20 yards in any direction.

Of course, I am wondering what the fvck I am doing up there. Earlier in the trip, I spent my time on Peak 7 and some of the other blue runs. Overnight, the top of the mountain had received 6+" of fresh powder. I figured with my new lid and the fresh powder I wouldn't kill myself coming down horseshoe bowl. Like I said before, I couldn't see more than 20 yards (1 2). I threw my common sense out the proverbial window, and cut straight down the run. I cut back and forth several times. I did a board cartwheel. I was able to recover and keep going. Talk about an adrenaline rush! When I finally made it to the picnic table I took this. Yes, I am stupid. I shouldn't have been up there. :D

I managed to use the T-bar 2 more times. I went up again during the blizzard conditions. The second time up the T-bar it was much easier, but still a pain in the ass. This time I went down Pika cutting over to White Crown. I hit a section of the run that was untouched! More adrenaline!!! I was gaining a lot of confidence, since I felt the black run was much easier. You'll understand why when you see the pics from my next run. I ran through part of Pathfinder 1 2. The trees are so much fun in powder.

The last run up the T-bar was right as the clouds cleared off. I was able to get some video of the resort.
Right after this, I decided to go down the Horseshoe again. Heheheh, this & this were quite sobering looks down. The trees on the right flank the picnic table from the first video. It was a blast, but by the time I made it back down the T-bar line was way too long for me. I am so glad that they are replacing the T-bar with a lift next year. If we move there, I shouldn't have to deal with it again!

So, it was off to Peak 7 where I met up with Dr. Evil after a few runs up and down. He and I managed a few runs on 7. We were flying down the runs. I was doing my best not to buzz the skiers, but damn it they're annoying! Like Dr. Evil said, it would be nice to see an all Boarders' resort. I know I raised my boarding skills quite a lot. I definitely found my center. I just hope I remember all of this next season.

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